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Thomas Chapin


Eric

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I recently picked up Insomnia and absolutely love it!! "Discovered" that I also owned "You Don't Know Me" (with Tom Harrell) and went back and listened to it as well.

Guy sounds like he is having a ball - what a great spirit. Any recommendations on where to go next?

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there's some discussion of Chapin in the Funny Rat thread. The entire KF box set (Alive) of his stuff is consistently good. I feel priviledged to have seen him live- check my avatar (photo taken by me at Glasgow jazz fest)

Edited by Clunky
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In addition to Dmitry's dead-on recommendation, I'd also suggest the posthumous NIGHT BIRD SONG, which was recorded in 1992.

If you really get into Chapin, pick up the ALIVE compilation that the Knitting Factory put out, which includes both records & much more.

Nice to see some Thomas Chapin discussion around here! I'd better start hanging out in the "Funny Rat" thread, I guess... ^_^

Edited by ghost of miles
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I was fortunate to see the Thomas Chapin Trio live twice, as well as a quartet with piano on another occasion, and that first time I saw him, in Vancouver in the early 1990s, was so great--one of the most thrilling performances by a saxophonist I've witnessed. My favorites with the trio are Night Bird Song and Sky Piece. I've also been trying to collect all his sideman appearances, and there are some great ones--I love the two Ned Rothenberg Double Band recordings on Moers, and the recordings with guitarist Michael Musillami on Playscape are also pretty special.  

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THOMAS CHAPIN & BORAH BERGMAN: INVERSIONS (MUMWORKS RECORDS.)

Recorded live in New York the 3/30/92.

Not for the "fainted heart" (reserved, maybe, only for the FUNNY RAT affiliate.)

The best Chapin IMO with HAYWIRE and ANIMA.

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I would say get "Sky Piece" and not the box. Unless you are totally blown away by the music there, do not get the box. I've gone through all of his discs for Knitting Factory and "Sky Piece" is the only one I've kept for good. The others are good as well but, again, you will want to have them only if Chapin's music totally grabs you (otherwise Sky Piece is the best one disc representation of his music, with one of the best versions of "Ask Me Now" I've ever heard). If I recall correctly, he also has some killer straight-ahead solos one of Braxton's standards discs (Braxton on piano, Dave Douglas on the Trumpet, and akLaff/Pavone on dub)

edit: Ooops, I see that you already like Insomnia a lot, so you might want to get the box, after all.

Edited by gnhrtg
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I would say get "Sky Piece" and not the box. Unless you are totally blown away by the music there, do not get the box. I've gone through all of his discs for Knitting Factory and "Sky Piece" is the only one I've kept for good. The others are good as well but, again, you will want to have them only if Chapin's music totally grabs you (otherwise Sky Piece is the best one disc representation of his music, with one of the best versions of "Ask Me Now" I've ever heard).

I bought the box last summer for a good price ($50) and thought it was a bit of an overdose. Sky Piece is as much of a masterpiece as everyone says, and Night Bird Song is very good too, but I didn't get into the other discs as much. Maybe in a couple of years I'll dig them out and be blown away.

I would suggest picking up the discs individually if you can't find the box for cheaper than $60. The early trio albums seemed to be the least essential.

Guy

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  • 1 year later...

THOMAS CHAPIN & BORAH BERGMAN: INVERSIONS (MUMWORKS RECORDS.)

Recorded live in New York the 3/30/92.

They also have a duo on Boxholder which is pretty good, Toronto 1997.

I have a session on Alacra (M. Pavone's label) called The Bell of the Heart, which I thought would be better than it is (too precious for my tastes), but the band is kind of interesting in a Connecticut underground sort of way.

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An excellent pre-trio recording by Thomas Chapin as a leader is Radius (Mu).

Here are some recordings with Thomas Chapin as sideman worth looking for:

Misako Kano--Breakthrew and Watch Out

Peggy Stern--The Fuschia

Ned Rothenberg Double Band--Overlays, Parting, and Real and Imagined Time

Pheeroan Aklaff--Sonogram

Robert Musso--Active Resonance

Edited by kh1958
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(Just because it happens to be sitting on my desk)--I'm a fan of Mario Pavone's "Dancers Tales" (feat. Chapin on winds)... inside/outside with just the right touch of simmering mania. I'd call it Mingusesque--albeit in a very atypical way (not your usual blues affectations).

Edited by ep1str0phy
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  • 2 months later...

Bump (at Guy's recommendation): I just got a copy of Thomas Chapin's 'Alive' boxed set (for $20, so I would have been an idiot to pass it up either way). I'm right in the middle of Anima, going in order. Knowing Chapin from his sideman work and not so much as a leader, I'm quite pleased--this music is very much in the Air-ish, inside/outside vein that best suits a man of his talents. Apologies for invoking the very unnecessary Air comparisons, but Chapin's trio work has a comprable sense of eclecticism, fun, and verve... I haven't had this much fun 'discovering' a multireedman since my first run in with Rahsaan. Looking forward to the other discs (I've actually been looking for Sky Piece for a while)...

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